History YMMV / ShadowTheHedgehog

** There's a debate whether this game is a spin-off or a main series Sonic game, some like sources from this website, Wikipedia, and Sonic Wiki Zone confirmed that the game is a spin-off, but there are Sonic fans, specifically those from Gen Z, argued that the game is a main series game, and thought it was developed by Sonic Team of Japan,[[note]] Even though Sonic Team USA, which by this point was rebranded as Sega Studio USA, was the one that developed it as the Japanese brand was developing ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006''.[[/note]] this debate is still on going, despite the fact that Sonic is in the game, and it plays similar to the previous games, he's not playable by all means

** There's a debate whether this game is a spin-off or a main series Sonic game, some like sources from this website, Wikipedia, and Sonic Wiki Zone confirmed that the game is a spin-off, but there are Sonic fans, specifically those from Gen Z, argued that the game is a main series game, and thought it was developed by Sonic Team of Japan,[[note]] Even though Sonic Team USA, which by this point was rebranded as Sega Studio USA, was the one that developed it as the Japanese brand was developing ''VideoGame/Sonic06''.[[/note]] this debate is still on going, despite the fact that Sonic is in the game, and it plays similar to the previous games, he's not playable by all means

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: What do you expect from something in the [[AwesomeMusic/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic series]]?

* CharacterPerceptionEvolution: The primary BigBad, Black Doom was once near-universally disliked by the ''Sonic'' fandom for many years, seeing him as pointlessly generic in characterization, having an out-of-place character design for the series, possessing a nonsensical motive for his actions, and [[spoiler:his retconned involvement in Shadow's creation]]. As the years have gone by and nostalgia for the title has increased, attitudes towards him have cooled down significantly. While he's still not considered a great villain by any means, many fans consider him [[SoOkayItsAverage adequate for his purpose and merely forgettable at worst]], seeing as he has some redeeming qualities such as his genuinely intimidating voice and general presence. When the [[UpdatedRerelease remaster]] of ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' was announced with Doom returning for its new Shadow campaign, many fans stated that they looked forward to seeing him again and/or to see his character improved.

* VindicatedByHistory: To some extent. While people still rag on it for major tone problems and gameplay issues, over the years it has become a fair bit more well regarded for still having an amazing soundtrack, alongside being the game that finally helped cement Shadow's character once again for [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 the next game]], letting him recover and prove himself to be the aloof anti hero he is at heart after going through a good amount of development.

** Over time but to a lesser extent, Black Doom has become one as well. Many fans of the franchise don't think too highly of him, as they see him as a bland villain with a generic name and motives, with him being shoved in to Shadow's creation being ''especially'' controversial. That being said, he does have his fans, enjoying his characterization, motives and design[[note]]Itself another point of contention due to how it blends in with the overall style of the Sonic franchise[[/note]], and they don't mind how he was suddenly added to Shadow's origin, and thus, it is not uncommon to see him included in fanworks.

%%* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic:
%%** The GUN Commander is supposed to be a tragic character
%% Whoever started this entry did not finish it. It has been commented out for the time being.

* VindicatedByHistory: As infamous as this game was at the time of its release, and still is to an extent, with Sega all but burying it to the annals of history and the PopularityPolynomial of the Sonic franchise itself, there's been a subsection of fans who look back on the game much more fondly, whether sincerely or ironically. The WebVideo/RealTimeFandub of it made by LetsPlay/{{Snapcube}} in particular got a lot of modern eyes on it. Sure enough, when the UpdatedRerelease of ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' was announced to be including an all-new campaign for Shadow that would take elements from this game, including Black Doom being BackFromTheDead, the reception was almost universally positive, a huge far cry from the game's initial reception almost two decades prior.

** Shadow wielding guns is a big one, particularly his "iconic" pistol. He only gets to wield them as a mechanic in this game since GUN soldiers can provide him with an assortment of weapons that could be of opportunistic use. Casual fans and non-fans will make you think Shadow is a psychotic GunNut who walks around with a pistol 24/7, and possibly even has a personal collection of them stored somewhere.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: The base was already pretty broken over if Shadow's return in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' was a good thing or not, and this game did nothing but add fuel to that fire. In fact, this game cemented Shadow as ''the'' most divisive character in the series, bar none. To this day, fans are split on whether he is still a good character who's just been the victim of overexposure and bad writing that has affected many characters in the franchise besides himself, or a glorified SpotlightStealingSquad who should have died after his debut and whose self-serious, angsty characterization does not fit with the whimsical nature of the series.

* TheScrappy:
** It's very difficult to find anyone who likes Black Doom as a villain due to him having a very uninteresting "alien overlord" design that clashes horribly with the looks of everyone else, having an incredibly generic name and bland personality, [[spoiler:and being haphazardly shoehorned into Shadow's established backstory]].
** The G.U.N. Commander has his fair share of people spiting his existence as well due to being very UnintentionallyUnsympathetic to some. A younger brother figure to Maria, he's so heartbroken by her death fifty years ago that he blames Shadow for everything that happened aboard the ARK, [[{{Irony}} before rising to take leadership of the very same faction that caused it]], and abusing his authority to try to have Shadow killed on-sight with no inclination that he's there for reform. And all we see him get is a HeelRealization when he realizes Shadow wasn't truly at fault.

* ContinuityLockout: Good luck trying to follow the story if you haven't played ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' and ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'', as this game's story relies heavily on plot threads left from those two games. Made even worse by the fact ''Adventure 2'' would remain exclusive to the UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast and UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube until 2012. This means only one-third of the platforms this game was released on had access to the game this one acted as a sequel to.

** By reaching a checkpoint with the blue gauge filled and pressing X/Circle then Y/Triangle immediately, the gauge never depletes, the timer stays at the time you've activated the menu, and it's possible to use Chaos Control as far as the game allows. This may cause the game to freeze and is only available on [[UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube GameCube]][=/=][[UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 PS2]], but it's the optimal way to speedrun Neutral missions.

* PortingDisaster: This game was built from the same engine as ''Heroes'', and thus the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 PS2]] release of this game suffers from all of the same problems the [=PS2=] version of ''Heroes'' did.

** The effectiveness of the weapons depends on what version you're playing. Works pretty well on the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube GameCube]] version, but is utterly useless on the [=PS2=] version. Also, the targeting system seems to have issues when it comes to short-ranged weapons, yet works really well once you start getting medium to long-ranged weapons.

* {{Applicability}}: Feeding on the teen angst aspects of the game, some people have argued that the relationship between Black Doom and Shadow mirrors that of a distant father suddenly showing up in their troubled child's life and trying to gain favor with them solely for materialistic reasons, which is not uncommon in real-life (particularly in a society where divorce has become commonplace and teeenagers are as mentally vulnerable as ever).

* {{Applicability}}: Feeding on the angstier aspects of the game, some people have argued that the relationship between Black Doom and Shadow mirrors that of a distant father suddenly showing up in their troubled child's life and trying to gain favor with them solely for materialistic reasons, which is not uncommon in real-life (particularly in a society where divorce has become commonplace and teeenagers are as mentally vulnerable as ever).

* {{Applicability}}: Feeding on the angstier aspects of the game, some people have argued that the relationship between Black Doom and Shadow mirrors that of a distant father suddenly showing up in their troubled child's life and trying to gain favor with them solely for materialistic reasons, which is not uncommon in real-life (particularly in a society where divorce has become commonplace and teeenagers are as vulnerable as ever).

* {{Applicability}}: Feeding on the angstier aspects of the game, some people have argued that the relationship between Black Doom and Shadow mirrors that of a distant father suddenly showing up in their troubled child's life and trying to gain favor with them solely for materialistic reasons, which is not uncommon in real-life, particularly in a society where divorce has become commonplace

** Despite Shadow's use of weapons, especially guns, being a common complaint, he wasn't the first ''Sonic'' character to use weapons. For example, Amy has her [[DropTheHammer Piko Hammer]] and Espio has his [[StockNinjaWeaponry kunai]]. And Shadow's not even the first to use guns either, with the most well-known examples before him being [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure E-102 Gamma]], who used a gun as his primary weapon, and [[VideoGame/SonicHeroes E-123 Omega]], who is [[MoreDakka a walking arsenal of guns, missiles and bombs]]. And if you really want to dig deeper, there are also more obscure characters such as [[VideoGame/KnucklesChaotix Heavy, Bomb]], [[VideoGame/SonicTheFighters Bean, and Fang]]. The first three all use bombs as their primary weapons, while Fang uses a popgun. (But, as noted in BrokenBase above, this is {{downplayed|Trope}} somewhat by the fact that a large chunk of the weapons seen in-series beforehand were not realistic and/or primarily used in a more comedic/slapstick way compared to what's seen in ''Shadow'', particularly since many players would have already been familiar with most of the aforementioned characters due to the series' late 90s/early 2000s NewbieBoom.)

* {{Narm}}: This game takes [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog a normally kid-friendly series]] about FunnyAnimals and tries to make it DarkerAndEdgier by applying RealIsBrown while adding minor swearing and gun use... and not much else, all while taking itself completely seriously. The end result is that many meant-to-be serious moments end up being hilarious instead.
** One particular moment is in the in-game intro, where Shadow does a DramaticGunCock with an SMG... by [[GunsDoNotWorkThatWay pumping it like a shotgun]]. As in he cocks the SMG's ''fixed handguard'' on the frontal barrel of the gun rather than the cocking handle.
** The game's menus use a ''gunshot sound effect'' whenever you select something, which really gives off a feeling of "trying-too-hard to be DarkerAndEdgier". This even applies to the save file creation dialog that plays when you start the game for the first time, so this will be your very first impression of the game.
** Many of the [[http://info.sonicretro.org/List_of_Library_sequences library sequences]] have incredibly melodramatic titles.
** A lot of the jokes about this title stem from how hard it is to take a tiny anthropomorphic hedgehog that shoots people seriously.
** Black Doom himself is this, mainly because he's such a stereotypical villain that many find it hard to take him seriously.
*** It is very hard to take Black Doom seriously when he summons the [[UglyCute rather adorable-looking]] Black Bull and then starts boasting about its "horrific" nature.
** The cutscene where Shadow considers the idea that he could be an android is hard to take seriously when his character model looks more high quality than the Shadow Androids'.
** In the Last Story segment before [[spoiler:Shadow turns into his Super Form to face Devil Doom]], Black Doom threatens to destroy Shadow in a very cliched and generic villain speech. What makes this narmy is the fact that he ends up essentially repeating himself four times in a row with the dialogue being only slightly different each time.
--->'''Black Doom:''' [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment So be it...Be prepared to meet your maker! Your past, present, and future end here TODAY! Prepare to die! Say goodbye Shadow, as you witness my true wrath!]]
** You might [[YouBastard be surprised]] at hearing some GUN soldier shouting you've killed "Bob", but that line [[https://twitter.com/Miexriir/status/1255891751748812800 is actually reused randomly]] [[TheyKilledKennyAgain throughout the entire game]].
** The U.S. President has a framed photo of Sonic and Shadow on his desk, as if they were his best buds or something.
** The scene where Shadow recalls Maria's death and his sacrifice from ''Adventure 2'', only to get interrupted by [[MoodWhiplash Sonic chuckling and going "Aw, yeah!" right after]].
*** Sonic's attitude in this game in general. He doesn't seem to be taking the Black Arms invasion as seriously as he should have and can come off as oddly hyperactive and enthusiastic about the whole thing at some points.
** The ten endings have Shadow come to different conclusions about who he is, but two of them stand out for how [[MoodWhiplash hilariously petty Shadow comes off compared to the other endings]].
*** The Pure Hero - Dark Ending has Shadow defeat Sonic, then declare himself the most powerful hedgehog in the world as if that StockShonenRival motive was all he ever cared about (the other endings where he beats Sonic have him either declare allegiance to Black Doom or announce his intention to "destroy this DAMN planet").
*** The Semi-Dark - Hero Ending has him declare to Eggman "No one can tell me what to do" like a petulant teenager angry at his dad (the other Eggman endings have him either embrace his apparent identity as an android or demand that he leave and not defile the sacred ARK of which he's declared himself protector).
*** In addition, despite his arsenal of Chaos Control powers, he just uses a simple karate chop to [[spoiler:kill Eggman]] in this and the Neutral endings. Extra Narm for the Neutral - Hero Ending, where [[spoiler:E-123 Omega]] is all prepared to fulfill his life dream and shoot down his archenemy, until [[KillSteal Shadow cuts in with his stock footage karate chop]].

* SpecialEffectsFailure: The Shadow Androids are very clearly just a copy-paste job on Shadow's low-poly model (a common technique used by games to keep performance consistent during graphically intensive sequences). Among several other things, it completely kills the seriousness of the scene they appear in if you're aware what those low-poly models are actually used for.

** For particular moments regarding Shadow, there are his infamous "[[AvoidTheDreadedGRating Where's that DAMN fourth Chaos Emerald?]]" and "[[PokeThePoodle This is like taking candy from a baby, which is fine by me!]]" lines, both of which come off as absurdly try-hard and have likely massively contributed to the character's modern perception as a laughable edgelord among the general gaming landscape, through the [[MemeticMutation proliferation of GIFs, videos and screenshots]] depicting said moments without context (not that it makes any sense in context either).

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aaUIdgtQEE "I AM AT ALDI"]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]A {{Mondegreen}} of "I Am... All of Me"'s lyrics, leading to jokes about Shadow shopping at Aldi, and many fans proclaiming that they CantUnhearIt.[[/labelnote]]

* SpecialEffectsFailure: The Shadow Androids are very clearly just a copy-paste job on Shadow's low-poly model (a common technique used by games to keep performance consistent during graphically intensive sequences). Among several other things, it completely kills the seriousness of the scene they appear on if you're aware why those low-poly models are actually used for.

* SpecialEffectsFailure: The Shadow Androids are very clearly just a copy-paste job on Shadow's low-poly model (a common technique used by games to keep performance consistent during graphically intensive sequences). Among several other things, it completely kills the seriousness of the scene they appear on if you're aware why those low-poly models are used for.

* SpecialEffectsFailure: The Shadow Androids are very clearly just a copy-paste job on Shadow's low-poly model (a common technique used by games to save on processing power during graphically intensive sequences). Among several other things, it completely kills the seriousness of the scene they appear on if you're aware why those low-poly models are used for.

* SpecialEffectsFailure: The Shadow Androids are very clearly just a copy-paste job on Shadow's low-poly model (which the game occasionally employs during CPU intensive sequences to save on processing, especially if Shadow's not close to the camera). Among several other things, it completely kills the seriousness of the scene they appear on if you're aware why those low-poly models are used for.

** The branching paths. Several fans love it for offering lots of replay value, while others dislike how the MultipleEndings structure implemented to complement the branching paths makes it so that the player must complete the game multiple times to unlock the Last Story and would have preferred for a more straightforward journey with all of the game's levels making up a single story path.

** The plot point that the G.U.N. Commander was a childhood friend of Maria reeks of this. It essentially renders the whole concept of the character stupid and illogical considering that he, for some inexplicable reason, blames Shadow for what happened to Maria instead of ''the group that murdered her and which he is now the leader of'', [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic which can make him look insanely petty and irrational]]. It also doesn't help that this development is only revealed if Shadow takes a specific level route, meaning his relationship with Maria can come entirely out of nowhere if you get to fight him at the end through an alternate path.